Northern State University

Junior Field
Teacher Work Sample
Candidate Name:

Cassandra Bottum

Candidate Phone Number:

Candidate ID Number:
Name of School where data
was collected:
Subject/Content Area of Unit:

Language Arts

Grade Level:

2nd Grade

Date Submitted:

December 11, 2015

I understand that obtaining, or attempting to obtain, a passing grade on a TWS by

falsification or misrepresentation may result in a failing grade in a course or expulsion
from the teacher education program.
Signature of Candidate Submitting the TWS:

Cassandra Bottum

Description
A Teacher Work Sample (TWS) is designed to assess the impact of teacher candidates
instruction on students learning as well as provide evidence of candidates teaching
performance during the Junior Field Experience. The TWS assignment includes the
following components:
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Contextual Information and Learning Environment

Instructional Design and Implementation (Common Lesson Plan)
Analysis of Student Learning
Reflection and Self-Evaluation (Goals)
a. ELED/SPED 396: Knowledge of Self

b. ELED/SPED 496: Knowledge of Self, Content, Learner

Format
Ownership: Complete the cover page verifying the TWS to be your own authentic
work.
References and Credits: If you refer to another persons ideas or material (such as
theorists), cite these in a separate section at the end of the TWS under References and
Credits. (APA is recommended)
Font and Spacing: Use Arial size 12 font, double space all narrative portions. (print on
both sides if possible)
Anonymity: Do not include the names of individual students, teachers, or staff as well
as participating schools in any part of the work sample in order to insure the anonymity
of all involved.
A paper copy of your completed TWS must be submitted to the Office of Field
Experiences.

II. Instructional Design and Implementation (Lesson Plan)

Task: Candidates design and implement one lesson and assess student learning. For
ELED/SPED, it is suggested that the lesson be designed for reading or math if possible.
(see rubric for scoring on each component)
1. Describe the lesson pre-assessment. (include an example)
2. Describe the results of the pre-assessment using a graphic representation, table,
or narrative discussion.
3. Explain how the pre-assessment results will be used to design the lesson
instruction.

4. Using the Common Lesson Plan format, design the lesson. (Insert Common
Lesson Plan here)

Include resources such as assessments, handouts, worksheets, etc.

Common Lesson Plan

Planning

Teacher: Cassandra Bottum

Grade Level: 2nd Grade
Subject: Reading/Phonics
Common Core/State Standard(s):
RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
RL.2.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to
demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
2.RI.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or
subject area.
Learning Objective(s): Students will be able to answer the question of the week; When
does support from others help with a creative idea? Students will be able to be able to
answer comprehension questions regarding why the methods used by Farmers Boast and
Busters methods did not work compared to Farmer Smart. Students will be able to identify
long e sounds within the text.
Describe how this lesson is developmentally appropriate:
What skills and content are needed to master the lesson objective(s)?
Students will need to pay attention to the text as I read aloud and get an idea of what
the main ideas of the text were. They will need basic comprehension and listening skills.
How is this objective relevant to students, their lives, and/or the real world?
This objective is relevant to the students, their lives, and the real world because the
book features a real life issue that students could learn from. Students will learn about
effective means of taking care of problems, food chain, generosity, kindness, and
boastfulness, to name a few.
What types of instructional strategies will you use to deliver the content?
I will ask students throughout the text to search for words that we learned about (long e
sounds) and I will ask them to look for them within the pages. When I ask questions, I
will wait and use response time to give more students a chance to come up with the
answer and think over the question. This will allow students to really think about the
questions and learn from the text and their peers.
How does your lesson reflect educational theories/theorists?
This lesson reflects educational theorist Piaget because Piaget believed that childhood
helped shape how an adult saw the world. Piaget believed that children learned from
their environment and their experiences. I think this book is a prime example of trial
and error and life experiences.

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Pre-Assessment
How will you measure students readiness/level of understanding prior to
teaching this lesson? (e.g., KWL chart, SMARTboard responder quiz, whole-class
Q&A with response cards, individual student pre-test, etc.).
I will measure students readiness/level of understanding prior to the lesson by using a
whole-class Q&A with response cards. I will ask questions before the lesson that will be
asked after the lesson, too, in order to show the level of learning. By asking questions
before the lesson, I will have a better understanding of what to focus more on during
the lesson.
Assessment
How will the students demonstrate that they have attained the goals of the
lesson?
Explain how the assessment aligns to the objective.
Students will be able to answer comprehension questions about the text. They will be
able to understand the question of the week and the definitions of the vocabulary
words. I will be able to measure their understanding by how well they are able to
answer the question before as compared to after the reading. We will also be doing a
worksheet that uses the high frequency words of the week.
Include a copy of the lesson assessment.

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 Provide exemplar student responses/products (model outcome).

Responses were verbal.
Post-Assessment
How will you evaluate the students work/performance? ( e.g., rubric, weighted
responses, checklist)
I will evaluate students work/performance by using weighted responses. I will ask the
same questions before and after we read the story to evaluate the students
performance. I will check to see that they completed the worksheet correctly.
Report results in qualitative and/or quantitative format.
I will report the results in a qualitative format because it will be easier to measure the
results in this means. As a whole, the class had a major improvement in understanding
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Lesson Plan

at the end of the lesson compared to the beginning of the lesson.

Key Vocabulary:
Technology needed:
Foolproof (main focus)
iPad
Construct
SMART Board
Sidekick
Unique
Other required materials:
Contraption
Big Book of Farmer Smarts Fat Cat
Daydream
Easel
Project
Scrap
Accommodations:
What accommodations/modifications will you include for specific students during
each phase of the lesson? (remediation and enrichment levels)
I will make the necessary accommodations/modifications throughout the lesson
depending on the needs of the students. If there are students that are hard of hearing, I
will use the mic. If there are students that have visual impairments, they will sit closer
to the front.
Lesson Opening:
How will you
activate student interest?
I will activate student interest by asking them the question of the week. I will ask them
if they have ever had a foolproof plan and if they did, how they used it. I will ask them if
they know anything about cats or mice.
present the learning objective(s) in an engaging and student-friendly way?
I will present the learning objectives in an engaging and student-friendly way by asking
them to pay close attention to the book I will be reading them because they will have to
answer questions after. I will also say that we are going to discuss why some of the
original plans didnt work as well as Farmer Smarts. I will also tell students to keep an

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We Do

I Do

Implementation

eye open for the long e sounds. I will present the book on an easel so that all students
are easily able to see the text.
make connections to past learning?
I will make connections to past learning by reminding students of the other types of
vowel teams we learned about previously and asking them to look for the vowel team
we learned about earlier in the week.
convey the importance of the learning objective and make it relevant to
your students lives?
I will convey the importance of the learning objective and make it relevant to the
students lives by explaining to them the importance of listening to the story to gain
comprehension so they can use the information they gained to answer questions. This is
a life skill that will be used by them for the rest of their lives.
explain to students the sequence of instruction? (preview the activities for
the period)
I will explain to students the sequence of instruction by asking them questions that they
will think on during the story. I will then read the story. We will then discuss what we
read in the story. I will tell them that they will answer questions before, during, and after
the lesson. I will tell them that after the story, we will move to our desks and complete a
worksheet.
communicate what knowledge or skills students will be expected to
produce by the close of the lesson?
I will communicate what knowledge or skills students will be expected to produce by the
close of the lesson by telling them to pay close attention to the questions I ask because
they may come up again. I will tell them that we will be reevaluating the questions after
we learn more from the book.
Instructional Input
How will you model/explain/demonstrate all knowledge and skills required of
the objective?
Restate the objective
I will restate
the objective throughout the lesson by asking questions as I read and
Guided
Practice

You Do

How will students practice, with your support, all content and skills required
to continue to internalize the objective? (How will students be engaged?)
Students will be engaged in the lesson by being a part of a circle gathered around
a big book. They
will be circled around me and I will use enthusiasm to make sure
Independent
Practice
How will you clearly state and model academic and behavioral expectations?
I will clearly state and model academic and behavioral expectations by standing
and waiting patiently for them to come and get seated and reminding them that
Lesson Closing
How will you
Review the skills/content taught in an interactive manner (whole/small
group, individually)
We will, as a group, discuss what we learned about the vocabulary words and about the
long e sound. We will go over the worksheet together.
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Analyze

Reemphasize and clarify the objective

We will discuss the questions I asked at the beginning of the lesson and see if our
answers have changed.
Reassess students mastery of, or progress toward the objective? (if not
already assessed)
I will, through the questions I ask, check for understanding to see if we have made any
progress in this skill set.
After you have administered your assessments (formal or informal) for this lesson,
analyze the results.
How did the students perform on this assessment? To what degree did they
achieve mastery toward the lesson objective(s)?
The students answered questions before and after the lesson and they showed great

Pre and Post-Assessment Learning Measures

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Pre-Assessment
Knew Answer

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Post-Assessment
Didn't Know Answer